Who I Am (Mercedes/Azimio)
Title: I Just Want You To Know Who I Am
Word Count: 2,786
Author: rachelallover
Media: Fan Fiction
Pairing: Mercedes/Azimio
Rating: PG-13 (see warning)
Warning: Some A lot of foul language is used, but content is not sexually explicit.
Summary: Mercedes was sick and fucking tired of the stupid football jocks walking around like they owned the school. The fact that the whole school let the jocks walk all over them still puzzled her. Now, you might say that it's hypocritical of her, considering the fact that Mercedes hasn't done anything about it either, but let's be realistic: Glee club was the bottom of the barrel. Even if she did do anything, it's not like anyone would listen to her anyway. Well - that's what she thought, anyway...
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Ryan Murphy & co. I don't own Glee. Trust me, if I did, this would be on. And Mercedes would have a real story line.
Author's Note: One shot Merzimio fic, because neither of these characters get enough love in this fandom! The beginning may throw you off a bit, there's a lot of hate. But don't worry. Passion is sprung from hate, right? ;) It's a one shot for now, I'd like to develop the story, but I want to make sure there's enough interest in the story. So please comment and give me feedback! Let me know if you want more, or if it could be improved, let me know what you think. This is my first fic, and I'd appreciate anything, I'd love to become a stronger writer. However, if you're going to bash the ship, then kindly gtfo. Ship wars not appreciated. Can we all just love each other? Pweeaaase?
Inspiration for this fic: Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls
And I don't want the world to see me,
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken,
I just want you to know who I am.
------
It was the end of fifth period, and Mercedes found herself, yet again, covered in a grape slushy in the girls' bathroom. Not only was another set of clothes ruined, but she would also have to change her weave for the 3rd time that week. Not to mention the fact that the sticky syrup drying in the most unimaginable places was unbelievably uncomfortable.
Mercedes was sick and fucking tired of the stupid football jocks walking around like they owned the school. The fact that the whole school actually let the jocks walk all over them still puzzled her. Now, you might say that it's hypocritical of her, considering the fact that Mercedes hasn't done anything about it either, but let's be realistic: Glee club was the bottom of the barrel. Even if she did do anything, it's not like anyone would listen to her anyway. That's high school for you, I guess. If you asked her, the social order sucked ass.
Fucking Azimio Adams. That was her problem right there. I mean, with the whole Bully Whips thing, Karofsky was pretty much off in beret land with Santana, doing God knows what. The only one they ever even protected was Kurt. Not that Mercedes was bothered, she was grateful that her best friend finally had some decent protection. Though the irony in the fact that his bully was now his body guard was delicious. But, with Dave preoccupied, that left Azimio next in line as McKinley's resident asshole.
Once she had finally managed to wash most of the drink out of her hair and dab her clothes dry with a generous amount of paper towels, she headed to the girls' locker room to get a change of clothes. She'd made it a habit of keeping a few outfits in there since the slushy strikes started flaring up again. But, of course, the universe seemed to hate her, so there was no way she'd get a free pass there.
Of course Azimio would be blocking the door to the locker room.
"Where do you think you're going, ice princess?" he said cockily with an eyebrow raised and his arms across his chest.
"I'm going to change my clothes, since Lord of the Douchebags decided to slushy me for the third time this week. Now get out of my fucking way," she replied fiercely, shifting her weight to one leg and putting her hand on her hip.
"Oh, no no no. I don't fucking think so. Changing defeats the purpose of slushying you in the first place!" he complained, his eyebrows joining together above his nose.
"Do not push me, flubber boy. I'm at my limit this week," she growled, her eyes narrowing. Azimio let out a hearty laugh.
"And what are you going to do about it, little girl? Sing me a scary song? PUH-LEASE!" She reinforced her previous statement, but he just laughed again, shaking his head.
And that's when something inside her snapped. She never planned on retaliating when it came to the football guys. She'd adjusted to putting up with their stupid antics. Maybe it was the fact that her sore scalp couldn't take any more abuse, or the fact that she had burned through so many clothes she actually needed to go shopping, but either way, she was absolutely done with his bullshit feed.
Seconds later, their faces were inches apart, and both of them were equally confused. It took Mercedes a moment to realize that she had a firm grip on his crotch, disabling him from moving anywhere. Well.. shit, what the fuck do I do now?! she thought as they stared at each other. This had to be the only time that Azimio was actually speechless. She gathered her thoughts quickly, silently thanking her subconscious for the opportunity to get in bitch mode.
"Okay, here's what's going to happen," she said quietly, not breaking the connection of their eyes. "You're going to get the fuck out of my way, and if you know what's good for you, you're going to stop slushying me and all my Glee club friends. Got it?" Her voice was laced with venom, and she had no problem releasing all the hate that had built up for the boy in front of her.
*
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he screeched as she grabbed him by the groin.
Though he was easily twice her size, Azimio was frozen in place. And by God, he was intimidated as hell. No one had ever stood up to him, and especially not some loser girl.
Okay, so he didn't actually think she was a loser. But there was no way in hell he was going to take off his bad boy front and let anyone know that. Fuck, if anyone knew what really went through his head, his rep would be completely destroyed. Things like caring about grades, not holding a grudge against the geeky kids, or having a crush on a chick from Glee Club didn't go well with the team. He had truly considered leaving them in the dust, but after seeing what the mob did to Finn and the other Glee guys, there was no way in hell he was stepping out of the crowd. Despite his good character inside, he settled for being the bad guy at school, because hell, at least he had a place.
Mercedes spoke seriously, and he couldn't find any words to protest. He couldn't even look away, despite his embarrassment; there was something about her gaze that struck him immobile. Then again, it could have just been the fact that she was squeezing the life out of his balls.
"Are you fucking crazy?!" he blurted, completely ignoring the girl's question. "Get off my dick, that fucking hurts!" He shifted uncomfortably, stopping abruptly as she gave him another squeeze. "GOOD GOD, I'LL NEED TO USE THAT LATER!" She scoffed at him, rolling her eyes.
"I highly doubt you'll ever need to use this," she remarked. Azimio could practically feel his blood pressure rise; that pissed him off beyond belief. But nevertheless, he had to give in. He couldn't bear the pain anymore.
"FINE, FINE," he begged, "I won't do shit, just let go!"
*
Mercedes smirked triumphantly as she released her grip. She could see the tension leave his body as he backed away gratefully. She swung the door open, cocking her head over her shoulder before entering the room. "You better hold up your end of the bargain, otherwise there will be hell to pay." She wasn't used to saying things like that, but it sure did feel good having the upper hand for once.
---
A week had gone by, and Mercedes felt damn good about herself. She'd been slushy free, and as far as she knew, so had the rest of the school. She'd seen Azimio sulking around the halls, looking thoroughly depressed, and the scene only added to her pleasure. Hell, even Finn hadn't been able to get them to stop their terrorizing. Granted, she didn't go around Glee club boasting about the fact that she almost ripped his dick off, because let's face it, she just didn't want that much attention unless it was about her getting a solo.
At the end of the day, she was going to head to Kurt's house to watch Project Runway and work on a French project, but he had to talk to Bieste for Finn since he'd been out for a week with the flu. She'd stayed after in her History class for a bit of help on a paper, and when she'd approached the boy's locker room, she could have sworn she heard sniffling. Worried that something happened to Kurt, she went running in to see who it was. I swear to God, if Karofsky finally snapped out of all this nice guy shit, I'm going to freak out, she thought as she bursted through the door. "Kurt?" she called as she walked down the line of lockers, searching for his figure. As she walked, she pulled her phone out, confused as she read a text from Kurt saying Cedes, sorry for the short notice. I have to cancel today and head to the doctor with Finn. I'll make it up to you! xoxo
She stopped in her tracks when she saw the figure of Azimio, crumpled against the lockers.
*
See, Azimio never really had a seamless relationship with his parents. He admired his dad, and they actually had a great relationship for awhile, but when high school hit, his life was pretty stereotypical: rebellious teenager and disappointed father. All through grade school and middle school, Az was actually an honor student. He had excellent grades. But as time progressed, his peers started learning about alcohol, drugs, sex, and class order. Clearly, Az adapted accordingly so that he didn't lose any friends. But this week had been his breaking point. His grades were slipping up really bad, and his parents slowly became less and less motivated to help him. Sure, he'd tried coming in for help with homework, but it failed pretty hard when that Sylvester chick intercepted him on his way to the tutoring center.
This week, though. The football scholarship he had received at the beginning of the year was nullified as his 3rd term grades proved to be too low to maintain the scholarship. Because of that, his parents refused to let him access his college fund until he got his grades up. Oh, did I mention that they also disowned him, being sure to let him know that he was the greatest failure of there life? Yeah. There's that, too. If anything, all the work Az actually did put in was to try to make his dad proud of him. That all was out the window now.
Not to mention the fact that he felt unbelievably guilty for what he'd done to that Glee chick Mercedes, and he'd been questioning his morals and character constantly since that day outside the locker rooms.
Azimio's heart dropped as he heard the door to the locker room slam open. He wiped his face on the sleeve of his letterman jacket, composing his face as much as he could before whoever it was found him. He was too late, though, because as Mercedes whipped around the corner into the same row of lockers, he hadn't had a chance to stand up, so he was still sitting pathetically with his back against the lockers. He stared straight in front of him, hoping that if he ignored her, she would just remember how much she hated him and walk out.
But, of course, nothing ever goes how you want it to.
"What.. Are you okay?" she asked timidly as she slowly approached him. He didn't look at her, but he could feel his cover slipping as she got closer.
"'m fine. What the hell are you doing here, loser?" he retorted harshly, barely shifting his head in her direction to acknowledge her presence.
"I thought.. Well, it doesn't matter. I.. Are you sure you're okay?" Azimio cursed under his breath as another tear started rolling down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly.
"I said 'm fine, so go away." His voice betrayed him, and his breath hitched on the last word. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Why the hell is she here for this?
*
Mercedes was still in shock from what she was seeing. She'd given up on the idea that this kid had any emotions way back in Freshman year. She never cared for him, but for some reason, she couldn't get herself to leave like she wanted. Maybe it was the looming idea of a guilty conscience, but she wanted to know what was wrong.
"It doesn't sound like nothing's wrong," she said quietly, sitting next to him on the ground, pulling her knees to her chest. "Seriously, in all the years I've known you, the only emotion you've displayed is hate. What the hell is eating you?" She rested her head on her knees, looking at his face with concern.
He broke down and let out a few sobs, burying his face in his hands. "I just can't talk about it, okay? And you hate me anyway, so just leave me be," he said sadly.
She sighed, frustrated. She turned her body to face him. "Do I have to violate you again to remind you that Mercedes will always get her way?" she said, raising an eyebrow. He looked up at her, shaking his head.
"You don't care, you just want to let your little fairy friends know that I have a weak spot. Cold day in hell before I let you do that to my rep," he said, guarded.
"Would you just stop hiding and let it out?!" she ranted, throwing her hands up in the air.
*
He looked at her blankly, before finally giving in, yet again. What the hell is it about this girl? Oh, right. I've only been checking her out for the last year, wishing she'd give me the time of day. That's right.
"Fine!" he yelled, pushing his hands away from his face. "If it's so damn important to you, then fine! I lost my scholarship. I have no money for college. I'm a fucking terrible person. My folks kicked me out. I'll be a fucking Lima loser the rest of my life. I'll never have a girl like you. Just fucking EVERYTHING, okay. Are you fucking happy now?!"
He didn't care anymore. He'd lost the motivation to keep up his guard. It was too much work. He knew he'd have to deal with the consequences, but for now, he could breathe a little easier.
*
Mercedes had no words. She had no idea what to even think, let alone say. Clearly, she'd underestimated Azimio more than she'd ever thought. This was the first time she'd seen him as a human, and a very broken human at that. And she felt even worse, because the only part she could focus on was the fact that he'd said 'I'll never have a girl like you.'
I mean, she remembered in elementary school when her parents would say that if a boy teased you, it meant he liked you. But she found it hard to believe that the same tactics were used in high school.
The silence seemed to stretch on, and she knew she had to say something. Anything.
"I-....I'm so sorry. I have no right to butt into your business, and I.. Fuck. I'm just so sorry." She rested her hand on his knee to comfort him. She honestly had no clue why the hell she even felt bad, considering everything he had done to her. I guess the conflict gave her insight as to why he was so mean all the time. Hell, if she had even one of those things to deal with, she'd be a basket case for sure, not to mention a mean ass bitch.
*
It felt strange for Az to finally tell someone what was on his mind. To show someone the real Azimio, not the big, mean, football player. This was him, raw and exposed. He didn't really know what to do. He'd just blurted his life problems to this poor girl, and now she was the one that was sorry. He shook his head, tilting his tear streamed face up to look into her eyes.
"No, don't. You shouldn't be. I should. And I am. I'm sorry. Because, instead of pursuing the girl of my dreams, I let some stupid meat heads control me, and I was a complete prick. You have no idea how much I regret that." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his statement. Fuck, he'd let the cat out of the bag now, and he literally had nothing to lose.
He moved slowly, making sure not to startle Mercedes, and being careful about how he proceeded.
He lifted his hand, placing it on the side of her face, gently stroking her cheek. She flinched slightly at his touch, but she didn't move away, and that was all the encouragement he needed.
"You are so fucking beautiful..." And with that, Azimio drew her in, placing his lips gently against hers.
One kiss. If that was all he ever got, he'd be okay with that. But for once in his life, he put his fears aside, and let someone see past his facade. He'd always been so scared of letting people see that, and so scared of being vulnerable...
But with Mercedes, it felt right. With Mercedes, he just wanted her to know who he really was.
Word Count: 2,786
Author: rachelallover
Media: Fan Fiction
Pairing: Mercedes/Azimio
Rating: PG-13 (see warning)
Warning: Some A lot of foul language is used, but content is not sexually explicit.
Summary: Mercedes was sick and fucking tired of the stupid football jocks walking around like they owned the school. The fact that the whole school let the jocks walk all over them still puzzled her. Now, you might say that it's hypocritical of her, considering the fact that Mercedes hasn't done anything about it either, but let's be realistic: Glee club was the bottom of the barrel. Even if she did do anything, it's not like anyone would listen to her anyway. Well - that's what she thought, anyway...
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Ryan Murphy & co. I don't own Glee. Trust me, if I did, this would be on. And Mercedes would have a real story line.
Author's Note: One shot Merzimio fic, because neither of these characters get enough love in this fandom! The beginning may throw you off a bit, there's a lot of hate. But don't worry. Passion is sprung from hate, right? ;) It's a one shot for now, I'd like to develop the story, but I want to make sure there's enough interest in the story. So please comment and give me feedback! Let me know if you want more, or if it could be improved, let me know what you think. This is my first fic, and I'd appreciate anything, I'd love to become a stronger writer. However, if you're going to bash the ship, then kindly gtfo. Ship wars not appreciated. Can we all just love each other? Pweeaaase?
Inspiration for this fic: Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls
And I don't want the world to see me,
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken,
I just want you to know who I am.
------
It was the end of fifth period, and Mercedes found herself, yet again, covered in a grape slushy in the girls' bathroom. Not only was another set of clothes ruined, but she would also have to change her weave for the 3rd time that week. Not to mention the fact that the sticky syrup drying in the most unimaginable places was unbelievably uncomfortable.
Mercedes was sick and fucking tired of the stupid football jocks walking around like they owned the school. The fact that the whole school actually let the jocks walk all over them still puzzled her. Now, you might say that it's hypocritical of her, considering the fact that Mercedes hasn't done anything about it either, but let's be realistic: Glee club was the bottom of the barrel. Even if she did do anything, it's not like anyone would listen to her anyway. That's high school for you, I guess. If you asked her, the social order sucked ass.
Fucking Azimio Adams. That was her problem right there. I mean, with the whole Bully Whips thing, Karofsky was pretty much off in beret land with Santana, doing God knows what. The only one they ever even protected was Kurt. Not that Mercedes was bothered, she was grateful that her best friend finally had some decent protection. Though the irony in the fact that his bully was now his body guard was delicious. But, with Dave preoccupied, that left Azimio next in line as McKinley's resident asshole.
Once she had finally managed to wash most of the drink out of her hair and dab her clothes dry with a generous amount of paper towels, she headed to the girls' locker room to get a change of clothes. She'd made it a habit of keeping a few outfits in there since the slushy strikes started flaring up again. But, of course, the universe seemed to hate her, so there was no way she'd get a free pass there.
Of course Azimio would be blocking the door to the locker room.
"Where do you think you're going, ice princess?" he said cockily with an eyebrow raised and his arms across his chest.
"I'm going to change my clothes, since Lord of the Douchebags decided to slushy me for the third time this week. Now get out of my fucking way," she replied fiercely, shifting her weight to one leg and putting her hand on her hip.
"Oh, no no no. I don't fucking think so. Changing defeats the purpose of slushying you in the first place!" he complained, his eyebrows joining together above his nose.
"Do not push me, flubber boy. I'm at my limit this week," she growled, her eyes narrowing. Azimio let out a hearty laugh.
"And what are you going to do about it, little girl? Sing me a scary song? PUH-LEASE!" She reinforced her previous statement, but he just laughed again, shaking his head.
And that's when something inside her snapped. She never planned on retaliating when it came to the football guys. She'd adjusted to putting up with their stupid antics. Maybe it was the fact that her sore scalp couldn't take any more abuse, or the fact that she had burned through so many clothes she actually needed to go shopping, but either way, she was absolutely done with his bullshit feed.
Seconds later, their faces were inches apart, and both of them were equally confused. It took Mercedes a moment to realize that she had a firm grip on his crotch, disabling him from moving anywhere. Well.. shit, what the fuck do I do now?! she thought as they stared at each other. This had to be the only time that Azimio was actually speechless. She gathered her thoughts quickly, silently thanking her subconscious for the opportunity to get in bitch mode.
"Okay, here's what's going to happen," she said quietly, not breaking the connection of their eyes. "You're going to get the fuck out of my way, and if you know what's good for you, you're going to stop slushying me and all my Glee club friends. Got it?" Her voice was laced with venom, and she had no problem releasing all the hate that had built up for the boy in front of her.
*
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he screeched as she grabbed him by the groin.
Though he was easily twice her size, Azimio was frozen in place. And by God, he was intimidated as hell. No one had ever stood up to him, and especially not some loser girl.
Okay, so he didn't actually think she was a loser. But there was no way in hell he was going to take off his bad boy front and let anyone know that. Fuck, if anyone knew what really went through his head, his rep would be completely destroyed. Things like caring about grades, not holding a grudge against the geeky kids, or having a crush on a chick from Glee Club didn't go well with the team. He had truly considered leaving them in the dust, but after seeing what the mob did to Finn and the other Glee guys, there was no way in hell he was stepping out of the crowd. Despite his good character inside, he settled for being the bad guy at school, because hell, at least he had a place.
Mercedes spoke seriously, and he couldn't find any words to protest. He couldn't even look away, despite his embarrassment; there was something about her gaze that struck him immobile. Then again, it could have just been the fact that she was squeezing the life out of his balls.
"Are you fucking crazy?!" he blurted, completely ignoring the girl's question. "Get off my dick, that fucking hurts!" He shifted uncomfortably, stopping abruptly as she gave him another squeeze. "GOOD GOD, I'LL NEED TO USE THAT LATER!" She scoffed at him, rolling her eyes.
"I highly doubt you'll ever need to use this," she remarked. Azimio could practically feel his blood pressure rise; that pissed him off beyond belief. But nevertheless, he had to give in. He couldn't bear the pain anymore.
"FINE, FINE," he begged, "I won't do shit, just let go!"
*
Mercedes smirked triumphantly as she released her grip. She could see the tension leave his body as he backed away gratefully. She swung the door open, cocking her head over her shoulder before entering the room. "You better hold up your end of the bargain, otherwise there will be hell to pay." She wasn't used to saying things like that, but it sure did feel good having the upper hand for once.
---
A week had gone by, and Mercedes felt damn good about herself. She'd been slushy free, and as far as she knew, so had the rest of the school. She'd seen Azimio sulking around the halls, looking thoroughly depressed, and the scene only added to her pleasure. Hell, even Finn hadn't been able to get them to stop their terrorizing. Granted, she didn't go around Glee club boasting about the fact that she almost ripped his dick off, because let's face it, she just didn't want that much attention unless it was about her getting a solo.
At the end of the day, she was going to head to Kurt's house to watch Project Runway and work on a French project, but he had to talk to Bieste for Finn since he'd been out for a week with the flu. She'd stayed after in her History class for a bit of help on a paper, and when she'd approached the boy's locker room, she could have sworn she heard sniffling. Worried that something happened to Kurt, she went running in to see who it was. I swear to God, if Karofsky finally snapped out of all this nice guy shit, I'm going to freak out, she thought as she bursted through the door. "Kurt?" she called as she walked down the line of lockers, searching for his figure. As she walked, she pulled her phone out, confused as she read a text from Kurt saying Cedes, sorry for the short notice. I have to cancel today and head to the doctor with Finn. I'll make it up to you! xoxo
She stopped in her tracks when she saw the figure of Azimio, crumpled against the lockers.
*
See, Azimio never really had a seamless relationship with his parents. He admired his dad, and they actually had a great relationship for awhile, but when high school hit, his life was pretty stereotypical: rebellious teenager and disappointed father. All through grade school and middle school, Az was actually an honor student. He had excellent grades. But as time progressed, his peers started learning about alcohol, drugs, sex, and class order. Clearly, Az adapted accordingly so that he didn't lose any friends. But this week had been his breaking point. His grades were slipping up really bad, and his parents slowly became less and less motivated to help him. Sure, he'd tried coming in for help with homework, but it failed pretty hard when that Sylvester chick intercepted him on his way to the tutoring center.
This week, though. The football scholarship he had received at the beginning of the year was nullified as his 3rd term grades proved to be too low to maintain the scholarship. Because of that, his parents refused to let him access his college fund until he got his grades up. Oh, did I mention that they also disowned him, being sure to let him know that he was the greatest failure of there life? Yeah. There's that, too. If anything, all the work Az actually did put in was to try to make his dad proud of him. That all was out the window now.
Not to mention the fact that he felt unbelievably guilty for what he'd done to that Glee chick Mercedes, and he'd been questioning his morals and character constantly since that day outside the locker rooms.
Azimio's heart dropped as he heard the door to the locker room slam open. He wiped his face on the sleeve of his letterman jacket, composing his face as much as he could before whoever it was found him. He was too late, though, because as Mercedes whipped around the corner into the same row of lockers, he hadn't had a chance to stand up, so he was still sitting pathetically with his back against the lockers. He stared straight in front of him, hoping that if he ignored her, she would just remember how much she hated him and walk out.
But, of course, nothing ever goes how you want it to.
"What.. Are you okay?" she asked timidly as she slowly approached him. He didn't look at her, but he could feel his cover slipping as she got closer.
"'m fine. What the hell are you doing here, loser?" he retorted harshly, barely shifting his head in her direction to acknowledge her presence.
"I thought.. Well, it doesn't matter. I.. Are you sure you're okay?" Azimio cursed under his breath as another tear started rolling down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly.
"I said 'm fine, so go away." His voice betrayed him, and his breath hitched on the last word. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Why the hell is she here for this?
*
Mercedes was still in shock from what she was seeing. She'd given up on the idea that this kid had any emotions way back in Freshman year. She never cared for him, but for some reason, she couldn't get herself to leave like she wanted. Maybe it was the looming idea of a guilty conscience, but she wanted to know what was wrong.
"It doesn't sound like nothing's wrong," she said quietly, sitting next to him on the ground, pulling her knees to her chest. "Seriously, in all the years I've known you, the only emotion you've displayed is hate. What the hell is eating you?" She rested her head on her knees, looking at his face with concern.
He broke down and let out a few sobs, burying his face in his hands. "I just can't talk about it, okay? And you hate me anyway, so just leave me be," he said sadly.
She sighed, frustrated. She turned her body to face him. "Do I have to violate you again to remind you that Mercedes will always get her way?" she said, raising an eyebrow. He looked up at her, shaking his head.
"You don't care, you just want to let your little fairy friends know that I have a weak spot. Cold day in hell before I let you do that to my rep," he said, guarded.
"Would you just stop hiding and let it out?!" she ranted, throwing her hands up in the air.
*
He looked at her blankly, before finally giving in, yet again. What the hell is it about this girl? Oh, right. I've only been checking her out for the last year, wishing she'd give me the time of day. That's right.
"Fine!" he yelled, pushing his hands away from his face. "If it's so damn important to you, then fine! I lost my scholarship. I have no money for college. I'm a fucking terrible person. My folks kicked me out. I'll be a fucking Lima loser the rest of my life. I'll never have a girl like you. Just fucking EVERYTHING, okay. Are you fucking happy now?!"
He didn't care anymore. He'd lost the motivation to keep up his guard. It was too much work. He knew he'd have to deal with the consequences, but for now, he could breathe a little easier.
*
Mercedes had no words. She had no idea what to even think, let alone say. Clearly, she'd underestimated Azimio more than she'd ever thought. This was the first time she'd seen him as a human, and a very broken human at that. And she felt even worse, because the only part she could focus on was the fact that he'd said 'I'll never have a girl like you.'
I mean, she remembered in elementary school when her parents would say that if a boy teased you, it meant he liked you. But she found it hard to believe that the same tactics were used in high school.
The silence seemed to stretch on, and she knew she had to say something. Anything.
"I-....I'm so sorry. I have no right to butt into your business, and I.. Fuck. I'm just so sorry." She rested her hand on his knee to comfort him. She honestly had no clue why the hell she even felt bad, considering everything he had done to her. I guess the conflict gave her insight as to why he was so mean all the time. Hell, if she had even one of those things to deal with, she'd be a basket case for sure, not to mention a mean ass bitch.
*
It felt strange for Az to finally tell someone what was on his mind. To show someone the real Azimio, not the big, mean, football player. This was him, raw and exposed. He didn't really know what to do. He'd just blurted his life problems to this poor girl, and now she was the one that was sorry. He shook his head, tilting his tear streamed face up to look into her eyes.
"No, don't. You shouldn't be. I should. And I am. I'm sorry. Because, instead of pursuing the girl of my dreams, I let some stupid meat heads control me, and I was a complete prick. You have no idea how much I regret that." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his statement. Fuck, he'd let the cat out of the bag now, and he literally had nothing to lose.
He moved slowly, making sure not to startle Mercedes, and being careful about how he proceeded.
He lifted his hand, placing it on the side of her face, gently stroking her cheek. She flinched slightly at his touch, but she didn't move away, and that was all the encouragement he needed.
"You are so fucking beautiful..." And with that, Azimio drew her in, placing his lips gently against hers.
One kiss. If that was all he ever got, he'd be okay with that. But for once in his life, he put his fears aside, and let someone see past his facade. He'd always been so scared of letting people see that, and so scared of being vulnerable...
But with Mercedes, it felt right. With Mercedes, he just wanted her to know who he really was.